carol ott online: life and work in pigtown

I really hate voting for the “candidate who offends me the least” — it’s not a confident way to go to the polls. And I find myself voting that way more and more as the years go by — I haven’t felt good about my chosen candidate since maybe Reagan. And let’s just not go there right now.

Baltimore’s mayoral race is a tough one. Honestly, I don’t know anything about most of the candidates. They’ve never made much of an attempt to get to know me, either. Same with most of the city council candidates (with the exception of William Cole, a good friend and solid citizen — at least that vote I can feel good about!) The sad thing is that small business owners have a lot of influence over who wins elections. We’re able to campaign, even in subtle ways, day in and day out. People (right or wrong) put a lot of stock in who we choose, because our customers generally share the same worldview as we do — otherwise, they wouldn’t be customers. So it would have made sense for the candidates to approach me and other resident business owners in my neighborhood…and most of them either never bothered, or they made such a halfassed presentation, there’s no way in hell I’d publicly (or even privately) support them. Keiffer Mitchell included.

But I’m still probably going to vote for Keiffer, for one reason. His crime fighting plan is focused on crime and punishment — not “community groups”. Baltimore has an inordinate amount of “community groups”, most of which do nothing beyond justifying their existence by keeping neighborhoods at the status quo. Partnering with “community leaders” — supposedly the city government has been doing that all along, right? So…what failed, and when?

As a business owner, I claim a small ownership of the label “community leader” — not because of anything I’ve done, but for the simple fact that I’m a visible and vocal part of my neighborhood. I don’t want or need to partner with the police. They don’t need my input or help — and God help them if it’s come to that. They need the help and support of the mayor and city council in the form of appropriate pay, tax benefits, and the simple ability to do their job. I know quite a few police officers, and their number-one complaint is that they feel defeated by the fact that if they arrest someone, they know that nine times out of ten, the criminal will either go free that very day, or the crime will most likely result in probation after a few days in jail and before a judge and prosecutors who don’t give a damn. When the criminals are safe in knowing they can run ripshod over communities and get away with it — what the hell can the police do?

I honestly think Keiffer Mitchell will make a decent effort at making this city safer by focusing on arrests and prosecution. We don’t need more “community groups” — we need to know that someone in charge gives a damn about keeping us safe.

Interesting way to end the day at the cafe.

Junkie and three friends pull up in front of the Shop & Go across from my cafe. This is the third time I’ve seen them today, and it’s pretty obvious from the looks of them that they’re coming into the neighborhood to buy heroin. This time, however, the police pull them over just as they’re driving away. Uh-oh…

The driver and one passenger were led away in handcuffs…in the back of a paddy wagon. Score one for Baltimore City Police! Usually there’s a big show — lots of cops, lots of people sitting on the ground…yet everyone’s let go. This time two people were taken to Central Booking, and that’s worth something. It absolutely infuriates me that people from other neighborhoods come to Pigtown to buy drugs — from as far away as Harford County, DC, and even further, probably. Maybe if they spent a little time in the city’s jails they’d think twice.

And by the way, if you own a Nissan Sentra, silver, late model with an Area 8 parking sticker, DO NOT come back to Pigtown. You stay in your own neighborhood — surely they have drugs wherever you live. Fucktard.